Memphis Development News

[Johnny Ryall]

Methodist's Olive Branch hospital halfway done
The Commercial Appeal

Construction costs of the building were projected at $64.6 million in Methodist's 2009 application to build the project, with a total cost of the project ringing in at more than $137 million... A University of Memphis study said the hospital's construction would have a $1.3 billion economic impact on the area.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-halfway-done/

Photo by Stan Carroll

[Johnny Ryall]

Finally, the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium will be ADA compliant and will retain its' 60,000+ seat status. It has been an incredible year or 2 for the Liberty Bowl and just seems to keep getting better. This will allow even more advancement on the fairgrounds redevelopment project... Did I speak too soon? Last I checked, the Liberty Bowl seating was at 62,000 after renovation & upgrades. This would put it at 60,300. Pretty close, but it doesn't matter if it dips into 59k. The place is restored & sparkling compared to years past.

Settlement Reached for Liberty Bowl ADA Compliance
abc24.com

MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Memphis and the federal government have reached a settlement to make the Liberty Bowl compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The price tag: $12 million... To make the changes around 1,700 seats will be lost, far less than the 10,000 seats originally estimated under the Herenton administration. Also under projection is the cost, originally estimated at $40 million.

http://www.abc24.com/mostpopular/sto...liNVPjPdQ.cspx

[Johnny Ryall]

Shops pop up in Overton Square
MEMShop initiative win-win for tenants, landlords
Memphis Business Journal

MEMShop is focused on retail and industrial spaces in three neighborhoods: South Memphis, Binghampton and the Cleveland/Madison area.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/p...on-square.html

ALAN HOWELL | MBJ

[Johnny Ryall]

$3.5 Million McVay Station Begins
Memphis Daily News

Three Class A speculative office buildings have broken ground in Germantown at McVay Road and Poplar Pike.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...tation-begins/

(Rendering Courtesy of Dalhoff Thomas design | studio)

[Johnny Ryall]

Pending redevelopment of two 12-story buildings on the same block.

Garage Demolition First Step for Downtown Project
Memphis Daily News

The Downtown parking garage attached to the 147 Jefferson Ave. building is being demolished, the first of many steps the property owner is taking to redevelop its adjacent 12-story masonry office building for a proposed mixed-use facility... Airman’s 147 Jefferson property is to the immediate west of the Tenoke Building at 161 Jefferson, another 12-story building that is pending redevelopment, but as a hotel. It’s owned by Vince Vaghela of the Mississippi-based development company Vibrant Hotel Inc.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...ntown-project/

[maximus10]

Originally Posted by Johnny Ryall

Pending redevelopment of two 12-story buildings on the same block.

Garage Demolition First Step for Downtown Project
Memphis Daily News



http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...ntown-project/

Good to see them getting rid of that garage. That thing is an eyesore. Hopefully this will kick-start some of the projects that are planned for that block.

[Johnny Ryall]

Downtown Memphis seeing more cruise business
By Bill Dries, Memphis Daily News

Work on the landing building is 95 percent complete with an opening of the restaurant as well as the excursion boat merchandise and ticket counter to open in March. The building has already hosted two events of several hundred people each with several more holiday parties booked in the space. It was originally hoped the restaurant would open this past July.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...iver-business/

(Photo: Lance Murphey)

[Johnny Ryall]

Road Project Will Enhance Local Logistics Assets
Memphis Daily News

Road improvements were needed in the area due to infrastructure demands created by several factors, including the entrance of Electrolux to the local business community and the creation of 1,200 new employment opportunities, the production and capacity expansion by Nucor Corp., and the development of a logistics park by Canadian National Railway Co. to accommodate warehousing and distribution center buildings... The overall project scope includes widening of the existing paved road from 36-feet-wide to 60-feet-wide, expanding the road from two lanes to five, with an additional 12-foot widening for turn lanes adjacent to the drives into the Electrolux plant... Further road widening to the south will depend on the availability of funds, which Fox thinks could happen sometime in 2013. “The road still needs to be taken further south, but this is a good start,” said Fox, referring to Electrolux’s future development of a 582-acre parcel.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...istics-assets/

[Johnny Ryall]

National Geographic names Memphis one of 20 must-see places
Memphis Business Journal

National Geographic is giving the Bluff City tourism industry some serious love, naming Memphis to its list of 20 must-see places in the new year. Describing the current state of Memphis, National Geographic writes, "there's something newly electric in the air." The city is included on the eclectic list with international destinations like Kyoto, Japan and Jarash, Jordan as well as stops in Chile, Norway and Grenada. Other domestic locations listed are the Hudson Valley in New York, St. Augustine, Fla. and the Missouri River Banks in Montana.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/b...mphis-one.html

Photo: MBJ

[EastOfTheCumberland]

Any news on a skyscraper for downtown Memphis? It's been many years since we have seen anything proposed let alone built.

[Johnny Ryall]

Originally Posted by EastOfTheCumberland

Any news on a skyscraper for downtown Memphis? It's been many years since we have seen anything proposed let alone built.

Gene Carlisle of Wendelta/ Carlisle Corporation still has his HQ on the site of his proposed One Beale mixed-use development. He converted the former sales center into Class A office space before leaving the Peabody Place Tower. He was offered incentives by Olive Branch, MS to relocate, but insisted on building something "striking". The last proposal for the actual tower had no renderings available, but was estimated to be a single tower around 50 - 60 stories. Since the crash, Carlisle has been mostly silent. I'd say a nice development is still in the cards, but of course I wouldn't be suprised if it were functionally reduced.

Boyle was said to be interested in building Prime Class A office space downtown. That's already been a couple years ago and I'm not sure what it would look like or how high it would be if & when proposed.

The highest profile development of recent would be the Memphis Medical Center's 240' tall, 12-story Le Bonheur Children's Hospital expansion tower which cost $340 million. Also, the mostly completed 16-story Horizon tower (condos/luxury apts) is tied up in court at the moment.

There are a lot of developments, redevelopments, restorations, infrastructure upgrades, etc. in & around downtown Memphis which include a massive amount of investment dollars.

[Johnny Ryall]

Demolition removes part of Raleigh Springs Mall
The Commercial Appeal

The old J.C. Penney department store on the north end of Raleigh Springs Mall is being demolished. The long-vacant anchor space totaling 176,000 square feet had deteriorated so much that it posed life-safety and code issues, mall general manager Juanita Jones said Tuesday.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-springs-mall/

Photo: The Commercial Appeal

[Johnny Ryall]

California businesswomen buy 38-year-old Memphis hotel at Mt. Moriah and I-240
The Commercial Appeal

Two California businesswomen have just purchased a failing, rundown Memphis hotel at a big interchange, and plan to breathe new life into it with the management of on-site owners and up to a $1 million refurbishment. Grace C. Hu, 68, and Jenny Zhu, 53, on Friday paid $1.25 million for the 196-room Governors Inn & Suites at 2490 Mt. Moriah, at I-240.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...artner=popular

[Johnny Ryall]

More good news for the Austin Peay corridor in Raleigh.

Memphis to make future city buildings friendlier to bicyclists, pedestrians
The Commercial Appeal

The design for the planned traffic precinct building in Raleigh has long been finished, but City Hall is now going to change the plan to make it fit better for pedestrians, bicyclists and the surrounding neighborhoods.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...gs-friendlier/

Photo by Thomas Bailey Jr.

[FLAWDA-FELLA]

Originally Posted by Johnny Ryall

Demolition removes part of Raleigh Springs Mall
The Commercial Appeal



http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-springs-mall/

Photo: The Commercial Appeal

I remember going to this mall some 20 years ago when I was in the Navy attending Air Traffic Control school at NAS Millington.

[Johnny Ryall]

Originally Posted by FLAWDA-FELLA

I remember going to this mall some 20 years ago when I was in the Navy attending Air Traffic Control school at NAS Millington.

Yeah, it was the spot in North Memphis for quite sometime, but lost anchors and went downhill quick after the Wolfchase Galleria opened.

[Johnny Ryall]

The regional FBI headquarters will be relocating within the city from its' current office in East Memphis' Humphreys Center. Downtown & other areas of the city are being considered.

The Commercial Appeal

The federal government seeks a long-term lease for nearly 96,000 square feet... According to CBRE Memphis the project could be an opportunity for build-to-suit construction. The Downtown Memphis Commission has known about the FBI's office search and "is working to put Downtown in the best position to get that," President Paul Morris said. But the project is challenging because of the agency's criteria for space, especially the security considerations and need for separate parking, he said. The requirement that the agency be the only tenant in the building also makes it harder to find Downtown space. "Because of their security protocols they need or desire to be in a single-tenant space," Morris said.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-east-memphis/

[maximus10]

What's the reason behind the FBI's move? That's a pretty nice facility they're in right now. I guess they're looking for a bigger building.

[Johnny Ryall]

Originally Posted by maximus10

What's the reason behind the FBI's move? That's a pretty nice facility they're in right now. I guess they're looking for a bigger building.

I don't think they've released any info on that, but it's probably for more OR less space, save money, etc.

[Johnny Ryall]

Baptist plans to build new rehab facility on Germantown Parkway
The Commercial Appeal

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. will apply this week for state permission to build a 49-bed rehabilitation hospital as part of a $33.1 million project, according to a public notice. The new 59,400-square-foot facility would be built at 1238 and 1280 South Germantown Parkway, close to the street's intersection with Wolf River Boulevard... The two parcels of land slated for the new facility were the original sites of the Baptist Center for Cancer Care. The hospital system announced in a public notice last month that it wants to move the $84.8 million cancer center to the building that now houses The Shops of Humphreys Center and other properties close to it... Baptist also filed for permission last month for a $14.1 million expansion of its emergency department at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women. That expansion will focus on pediatric services and bring 37,500 new square feet to the hospital in East Memphis.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...D=happeningnow